Chris Hughton hailed "a wonderful achievement" after Newcastle United earned a swift return to the Premier League yesterday.

"I might have something a little stronger than a cup of coffee," said Hughton when he entered the media room after the match.

Less than a year after Alan Shearer failed to prevent Newcastle from dropping out of the top division Hughton, the man who began the season in caretaker charge of the club but is now a candidate for manager of the season, wanted to keep the spotlight on his players' achievements.

"I might be the manager but it is the team which has won promotion," he said. "We kept a lot of players from last season and those players made the decision that their best chance of returning to the Premier League was by taking this team back."

Promoted earlier in the evening courtesy of results elsewhere, Newcastle then defeated Sheffield United 2-1 at St James' Park. Hughton is resolutely undemonstrative but the former Republic of Ireland full-back and Tottenham coach for once sprinkled a few adjectives. "I'm not the most emotional of people but I must admit it's a wonderful achievement," he said. "This is right out there on top of anything I've done. This is a very proud moment in my first managerial position."

Hughton and the players were visited by Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner. "Mike was down in the changing room," said Hughton. "I spoke to him very briefly. He just said 'congratulations'. This is what we're all in the game for. We deserve to be in the Premier League, we didn't last season but we've earned the right to be back there."

Newcastle's target now is to clinch the Championship title. "We've five games left," said Hughton. "We've been top so long it would be a real disappointment if we didn't [win it]."

Kevin Blackwell, the Sheffield United manager, was magnanimous in defeat. "It's a terrific achievement on Newcastle's part," he said. "Congratulations to them."

As a former manager of Leeds United, Blackwell was asked how Newcastle had averted catastrophe after relegation whereas the Elland Road club had continued floundering. "They kept a core of good players," he said. "They kept players with bollocks who showed a collective strength. It takes courage to get a big club promoted and Newcastle's players have shown balls."